On Monday the 16th of February, I went to camp in Glentui (Oxford) with my classmates. We started by driving to Oxford, stopping by Ashley Gorge. After morning tea under the Reynolds Heritage Pavilion, we started our rainy camp adventure in Glentui! Although it was sad having to cancel the fun activities due to the rain all camp, that is apart from Friday which was annoyingly sunny, it was still pretty fun. My favourite day was Tuesday, our second day of camp, filled with roasted marshmallows.
This day started with me arriving at the campsite again after my good night’s sleep in my cosy bed back in Christchurch. I was staying overnight tonight, which meant I brought my normal big suitcase and my small suitcase along with my school bag/daypack. I was tired, having been forced to wake up at about 5 or 6 in the morning in order to get to Glentui Meadows Camp on time. Luckily for me, I reached there just when they were having breakfast which gave me time to set up my bunk.
Soon, we got into groups of 9 or 10 and did lots of fun things, including getting our tongue purple-ish blue from eating so many blackberries in the field. We had rotations of survival skills, from safely deactivating bombs to making shelters for the injured. My group’s first task was to deactivate the bomb safely, but we had to gain the trust in order for the “bomb deactivation trust person/agent” to know whether we were responsible enough. We successfully completed all the challenges and finally, we got to be near the bombsite that was cordoned of. The last instruction was to bring the bomb out and safely deactivate the bomb, but only 1 person was allow to wear the full gear and touch the bomb. We nominated Bella to be fully bomb protected and helped her get the bomb out easier using rope. Next, the task was to cut the wire(s) as part of the deactivating process. At first, everyone agreed on cutting the red wire, and we were all encouraging Bella to cut the red wire. Bella was about to cut the red wire, but then the parents barged in, causing commotion and confusion. Finally, Bella tried to cut any wire but it was quite hard. We managed to disengage the bomb safely with flying can lid and some liquids, probably baking soda and vinegar.
Skipping ahead of time, we have a lovely fire burning, ready for roasted marshmallows in the fireplace. The best part is the outer crispy shell, crunchy and sweet. It taster so good, and it definitely was the best school camp ever at this school. It was a very cool experience.
What makes the perfect camp experience for you?